The Traitor's Daughter (8 page)

She was tired now. All her thoughts turned back to Hugh,
where they must not go, but no sooner did she have them under her control than
they wandered again. Alais knew, as she drifted off to sleep, that her body
would have to resist, even as her mind could not and she gave up the fight. It
could not hurt this once to imagine his kisses or his body against hers. Alais
fell asleep smiling, imagining herself asleep in Hugh’s arms.

When Alais went into the hall, having been woken before
dawn and dressed by Sarah, she found Hugh there alone. He looked up as she
entered, then stood. A small fire had been lit and even by its faint light she
could see his expression.

“You look troubled, my lord.”

“Indeed, my lady. I am wondering how to manage this
journey most safely for you.”

She smiled. “Surely my husband has sent a large enough
escort?” Although, now that she gave the matter some thought, she realised that
she had only seen servants who obviously belonged at Hill. There had been no
one without a specific part to play, except Edmund and even he had stepped
briefly into the rôle of steward. Where was her escort?

“No, my lady. I am afraid my father sent no escort at
all. Edmund and I are here because I did not think it right for you to travel
unattended. I cannot spare men from here. It is a small estate and every man is
needed, especially if the French invade.”

Alais was astounded. Her husband had insulted her by
sending no escort. Worse, he had insulted her mother. He could not have known
that she would die on the journey. “But he sent a letter.” she said, confused.
She strode across the room so that she stood in front of him, so that she could
see his face. His shame and embarrassment for his father were clearly
displayed. Alais turned her back on him in her anger. Her husband had sought to
humiliate her and her mother by making them travel unescorted. Then she
realised that Hugh must have disobeyed him to provide even this small escort
and she turned back to him. She saw again the pity that she had seen the day
before.

“No, my lady. The letter came from me. I am afraid I
hoped that you would believe it came from my father, since I smudged the
signature. I had hoped to meet you before you sent your own servants back to
Leigh. They could have travelled with us.”

“I am glad you did not, for then they would now be
dead.”

He bowed his head to acknowledge the truth of what she
said.

“I understand now,” said Alais slowly, “why you asked us
to keep the carter and the cart with us. It seemed a strange request.” She sat
at the table beside him and a servant brought her some food. Starting to pick
at her bread and cheese she turned back to Hugh.

“I thought it would be easier for your mother to ride in
a cart and I knew I could not provide one for her comfort. I cannot take a cart
from the work here, so you will have to ride.”

“I can manage that,” said Alais sadly. As she had hoped,
she was learning more about her husband, but it failed to please her. “I ride
all the time at Leigh. I should be able to keep up with you.” It was not the
riding that was the insult. She had travelled from Leigh on a horse, leaving
her mother to ride in the cart. No, it was the lack of escort, as if her
husband did not care about their safety or their rank.

Hugh nodded. Relief was evident on his face, but still
there seemed to be something else.

Irritated, she tapped her finger on the table. “Is there
something else, my lord?” she inquired brusquely.

Hugh’s back straightened and he stood even taller. “My
lady, the woods and byways are full of outlaws. It would be dangerous for two
men and a woman to travel. It might encourage attack.”

This was not news to Alais. For many months now there
had been tales of lawless men roaming unhindered in this part of the county.
“That cannot…” she began, but was interrupted by Hugh.

“Therefore my lady, I think it best if three men ride,
or rather two men and a boy.”

Shock kept Alais silent. He surely could not intend that
she should dress as a boy. How would people know who she was and know to pay
the proper respect to her? “But, my lord, you must know that it is a sin for a
woman to wear men’s clothes.”

“I am sorry, my lady, but it is the surest way of
keeping you safe. I would not suggest it if I did not think it necessary.”

Alais knew that was true.  He could not possibly imagine
that such a thing would be welcome to her. It was bad enough to go to her husband
unescorted, but it was unthinkable to go to him dressed as a boy. “No,” she
said firmly, “I am grateful to you for taking my safety into account, but I
cannot do it.”

“Lady Alais,” he said forcefully, “I am afraid you have
no choice. To do otherwise would be to put my life and Edmund’s life in danger,
as well as your own. Whilst I would be prepared for that on my own account, I
am not prepared to risk Edmund’s life, or yours.”

Alais was struck by the severity of his tone. Up until
now, he had always been gentle and considerate in his dealings with her and
this, more than anything else, made her understand that he viewed this as a
very important matter. “Very well. I will do as you say, though with
misgivings. I will trust your judgment in this one thing.”

He handed her a bundle of clothes and she knew that he
had never been prepared to take no for an answer. “Will you send Sarah to
assist me? I do not know how to put these on.”

“I will,” he promised, “but you must learn to do it for
yourself. There will be no one to help you on the journey.”

This was not at all what she expected, she reflected as
she went back into the screened-off room. She had expected to travel in the
style befitting someone of her rank and that of her husband. Now she was being
treated as a servant, as less than a servant. She had hoped that her husband
would respect her as she had hoped to respect him. Now that looked unlikely and
she wondered what exactly her reception would be when she finally reached Liss.

Sarah joined her and together they took off her dress
and replaced it with the hooded tunic and hose that Hugh had given her. Sarah
made it clear that she was scandalised, but made no comment, contenting herself
with tutting and clicking her tongue. It proved to be more difficult than Alais
expected, to dress as a man. Nothing seemed to fit properly but Sarah assured
her that she looked respectable enough and she went back into the hall to
present herself to Hugh.

Hugh looked up as Alais came back into the hall. Even
wearing his clothes, there was no disguising the fact that she was a woman. If
anything, the clothes served to accentuate her shape, despite the fact that he
had, until now, thought it boyish rather than womanly. It was her hair that
struck him. The colour of deep chestnut, it hung in a thick long plait down her
back. It was the first time he had seen it and it almost dazzled him. Even
running from the French she had managed to keep it demurely hidden and now it
was displayed before him. He realised that she had done it on purpose, to
humiliate him and to remind him that she was committing a sin.  He took a step
towards her and reached out to touch it. Then he came to himself and remembered
what he was doing.  He pulled his hand back. Alais had noticed the action, but
her puzzled frown told him that she did not know what he had intended.

“No, no,” he said, shaking his head and thinking
quickly, “that will not do at all. Loosen the belt.”

Alais did as she was told and the tunic hung a bit more
shapelessly. “At least the cap will cover your hair.”  He hoped it would. Most
people, seeing someone in man’s clothing would see what they expected to see –
a man. Only the clever and curious would see anything else. He should be able
to avoid that if all three of them worked together.

As he thought about her hair, it occurred to Hugh once
again that Alais had lost everything and did not even possess a comb. “Sarah,”
he called. When the woman arrived, he asked her to go through his mother’s and
sister’s belongings and pick out anything that would be of use to Alais.

“No, my lord, please. It is too much,” protested Alais.

“They are of no use to me, my lady, and you have need of
them.”

“But surely they are of value to you.”

“I spend too much time with ghosts. It will be good for
me to let them go.”

It was true.  Believing he had no future, he spent much
of his time with his memories, where other men in his situation would be
planning their futures. He was sure that if his younger brother, Stephen, were
the heir, he would be planning every last detail of what he would do with his
inheritance when their father was dead, but Hugh had no desire to plan for
possessions that were not likely to be his and that he did not want. The past
was important to him, not the future. Perhaps now was the right time to let the
past slip away.

Alais was right, he did value these mementos from Lady
Maud and Isabella, but it seemed easier for him to imagine Alais enjoying them
than anyone else. Not that there was anyone else who would have them. He would
not let his sister or sisters-in-law have them. They had helped neither his
mother nor Isabella when they had needed it. Alais had no connection with
either, so he thought it would cause him less pain to see her in their clothes
or using their belongings. That there would be pain he was certain. He had
loved no one else in his entire life. He was close to Edmund and Edmund’s wife
and daughters, but he did not think he loved them. He would grieve if they
died, but he did not feel the same instinct to protect them. He had done his
best to protect Lady Maud and Isabella, but he had failed and they had died. He
knew that it was not his fault entirely, but he knew that he was far from
innocent.

And here was his father’s wife and he wanted to save her
from what was ahead, but he was helpless, as helpless as he had been to protect
his mother. His rôle was to ensure that she arrived safely at Liss, then his
responsibility would end. He could, he would, do no more.

He realised that Lady Alais was looking at him
expectantly. “There is one other thing. Do you think you could manage to wear a
sword? Or would it be too heavy? I could give you the scabbard if you cannot
manage the whole thing. It would at least give the illusion that you were
armed.”

“Let me try,” said Alais. Hugh handed her one of the
swords he had taken from the Frenchmen. He had little hope that she would be
able to hold it, let alone wield it, but it was the appearance that was
important. He wanted to put off attackers. He did not expect Alais to join in
any fighting.

The sword was much too long and heavy for her and, even when
she was on a horse, he could see that she would not be able to manage it. As he
took it back, Hugh hefted it in his hand. “It is not well-made and the balance
is wrong. Perhaps my own sword...”

Alais shook her head. “If the French swords are so bad,
I should feel safer if you kept your own sword.”

“A dagger?” he suggested.

This seemed to be an acceptable compromise. Alais
managed to wear it ostentatiously, so that it would be obvious to even the most
casual of observers. Unfortunately, although she looked extremely comfortable
wearing it and had handled it well when he had given it to her, Hugh knew that
she would be unable to use it and he hoped fervently that such an occasion
would not arise. “At least outlaws will think twice about attacking three armed
men. Very well,” he said, assessing her once more. “You will pass as a boy from
a distance. And when we get to the inn tonight, you must stay silent and not
remove your cloak or your cap until we are alone.”

“I am to be a boy at the inn as well?” cried out Alais.

“Of course, my lady, where else do you think outlaws
find out who are the best people to attack on the road?”

Alais was horrified and then another thought occurred to
her. “And the rooms, my lord, how many rooms will there be?”

“One” said Hugh firmly. “But I will make sure that there
is a truckle bed for you.” It took a lot of effort, but he held her gaze. She
had to understand what a dangerous situation this was. Their mutual embarrassment
was nothing compared to the risk of being set upon by robbers and thieves.

Alais sniffed, this was going too far.

“My lord, this is hardly proper.”

“No. And if I had been brave enough to do what was not
proper for you and your mother and have you both stay here at Hill, she would
still be alive. You would not have been in St Michael’s, but here.”

Alais was silent. It had not occurred to her to consider
that she and her mother might have stayed at Hill, but now it did seem strange
that they had not. She had never considered that they might have stayed there
once she had learned that the manor belonged to her stepson and not her
husband. Alais bit her tongue to stop herself from speaking. Her mother’s death
was her husband’s fault! If he had sent a proper escort for them, they would
have been travelling and not in St Michael’s at mass. He should have sent an
escort for them to bring them from Leigh. “Perhaps,” she said, deliberately, “it
would be better for me to return to Leigh and for your father to send a proper
escort there.”

“My lady,” Hugh was embarrassed, “my father does not
intend to do you any honour on your journey to him, whenever you make it.” He
had hoped to keep this terrible truth from her. Whatever she might have guessed
about her husband’s character over the years, he doubted that she had ever
considered this, but he was surprised.

“It is because of my father.” Her response was
immediate, as if she had already given the matter much thought. But then, she
probably had. A pretty young bride would have to find some explanation as to
why her new husband had left her behind when he had returned to his home and
Jean de Montjoye’s daughter would not have far to look to find one.  He could
see tears filling her eyes, but they did not fall and he admired her restraint.

“Not entirely” He was surprised at how cold and remote
his voice had become. He struggled to maintain his control and not tell her
everything he knew or suspected. It would do neither of them any good. “But he
knows he will get little criticism for treating you badly. You have no one to
stand up for you. If you had you would be married to one of their sons, not an
old man.”